1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to frames for automatic umbrella style canopy tents and tents including the frames and, more particularly, to a frame for automatic umbrella style canopy tents and a tent including the frame, which is configured to be expanded or collapsed in a manner similar to the motion of a conventional umbrella, and in which spreaders, coupled at first ends thereof to a spreader holder and coupled at second ends thereof to upper ribs, thus expanding or collapsing the upper ribs in radial directions in response to upward or downward movement of the spreader holder, are configured as extendible members, thus allowing a user to easily and quickly pitch or close the tent without applying strong force to the frame, and reliably locking the tent frame in an expanded state, thereby securely maintaining the pitched state of the tent even if excessively high external force is applied to the pitched tent.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, so-called “canopy tents” among a variety of conventional tents used for outdoor activities, such as camping, are specifically designed tents of a new idea, which are configured to be easily and quickly pitched or closed, thus being convenient to users.
The canopy tents are also called “collapsible tents” or “folding tents”. The canopy tents can be automatically and quickly pitched or closed when the tent frames are expanded or collapsed by users at desired places, so that the canopy tents can be called “automatic tents”, and contribute to the convenience of users.
Conventional automatic tents have been classified into several types. As an example, a conventional automatic umbrella style canopy tent configured to be pitched or closed in a manner similar to the motion of a conventional automatic umbrella will be described herein below.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a conventional frame for automatic umbrella style canopy tents. FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating an automatic umbrella style canopy tent having the above-mentioned frame when the tent is fully pitched. FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating the automatic umbrella style canopy tent having the frame when the tent is collapsed.
As shown in the drawings, the conventional frame for automatic umbrella style canopy tents is a collapsible frame comprising a rib holder 12, with a plurality of upper ribs 1 coupled by hinges to the upper end of the rib holder 12 in radial directions such that the upper ribs 1 can be extended in radial directions when pitching the tent. A stopper 20 is mounted to the lower end of the rib holder 12. Integrally formed at the lower end of the rib holder 12 is a rope connector 14 to hold a tension rope 31 extending from the center of the ceiling part of the canopy of the tent 30 as shown in FIG. 2.
A spreader holder 16 is movably fitted over a shank part of the rib holder 12 such that the spreader holder 16 is movable upwards and downwards along the shank part of the rib holder 12. A plurality of collapsible spreaders 2 is coupled by hinges to the external surface of the spreader holder 16 in radial directions so that the spreaders 2 can be extended in radial directions when pitching the tent. The spreaders 2 are also coupled to respective hinge joints of the upper ribs 1.
An elastic spring 18 is fitted over the shank part of the rib holder 12, and elastically biases the spreader holder 16, thus maintaining a predetermined gap between the spreader holder 16 and the top end of the rib holder 12 when the tent is in a pitched state.
The operation of the automatic umbrella style canopy tent with the conventional frame having the above-mentioned construction will be described herein below.
FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating an automatic umbrella style canopy tent having the conventional frame when the tent is fully pitched. FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating the automatic umbrella style canopy tent having the conventional frame when the tent is collapsed.
When a user desires to close the pitched tent 30, the conventional frame is manipulated as follows.
To close the pitched tent, a user holds any two diametrically opposite upper ribs 1 at positions around the lower parts of the upper ribs 1, and forces the two selected upper ribs 1 inwards and downwards. Thus, the lower parts of all of the upper ribs 1 are collapsed downwards and closed at the same time.
After all of the upper ribs 1 have been completely closed, a plurality of lower ribs 3 coupled to the upper ribs 1 by the hinge joints is folded upwards around the joints, so that the tent 30 is completely collapsed (see FIG. 3).
During the above-mentioned tent collapsing action, the spreader holder 16, movably fitted over the shank part of the rib holder 12, is moved upwards along the shank part of the rib holder as it is forced upwards by the spreaders 2 coupled by the hinge joints to the upper ribs 1. The spreader holder 16 thus reaches an upper position on the rib holder 12.
During the above-mentioned upward movement of the spreader holder 16 along the shank part of the rib holder 12, the spreader holder compresses the spring 18 which is fitted over the shank part of the rib holder 12 at the position above the spreader holder 16.
When a user desires to pitch the closed tent 30, the tent frame is manipulated as follows.
To pitch the closed tent, the user opens the folded lower ribs 3 from the closed upper ribs 1 by forcing the ends of the folded lower ribs 3 outwards and downwards, and holds any two diametrically opposite upper ribs 1 at lower parts around the hinge joints 1a prior to forcing the two selected upper ribs 1 upwards and outwards. When the two selected upper ribs 1 are forced upwards and outwards by the user as described above, all of the upper ribs 1 are elastically rotated upwards and fully opened at one time by the restoring force of the spring 18. Thus, the tent 30 is fully pitched (see FIG. 2).
During the above-mentioned tent pitching action, the spreader holder 16, movably fitted over the shank part of the rib holder 12, is moved downwards along the shank part by the restoring force of the spring 18. The downward movement of the spreader holder 16 along the rib holder 12 extends the spreaders 2, while the extending action of the spreaders 2 promotes the extending action of the upper ribs 1.
When the user applies downward pressure to the spreader holder 16 after the tent 30 has been fully pitched, the spreader holder 16 is moved downwards along the shank part of the rib holder 12 due both to the pressure applied by the user to the spreaders 16 and to the restoring force of the elastic spring 18.
Thus, the position of the spreaders 2 is changed to incline the spreaders 2 such that the outside ends of the spreaders 2 are positioned higher than the inside ends of the spreaders 2 coupled to the spreader holder 16. Due to the inclination of the spreaders 2, the fully extended state of the frame 10 is locked so that the frame 10 supporting the fully pitched tent 30 can be retained in its fully extended state even if an external impact is undesirably applied to the pitched tent 30.
The automatic umbrella style canopy tent having the above-mentioned conventional frame is advantageous in that the tent can be easily and quickly pitched and closed, and the frame has a simple structure. However, due to the elastic spring 18, the number of elements constituting the tent frame is increased and, furthermore, the elasticity of the spring 18 is gradually reduced by the repeated pitching and closing motion of the tent frame. The tent frame 10 is locked in its extended state due both to the gradient of the spreaders 2 and to the restoring force of the elastic spring without using a separate locking device, so that, when a strong external force is applied to the pitched tent, the tent may be collapsed (to be closed).
Furthermore, the conventional automatic umbrella style canopy tent is configured such that the tent frame is actuated by a spring, so that the tent frame must use a spring having high elasticity. The spreaders are coupled to both the spreader holder and the upper ribs without using a means for absorbing shock, so that, when a strong impact is applied to the spreaders, the spreaders may be broken and injure a user.
Therefore, in an effort to overcome the problems of the conventional automatic umbrella style canopy tent, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0344232 (Title of the Device: Frame for Automatic Umbrella Style Canopy Tents) has been proposed. This tent frame uses an elastic spring in the same manner as the conventional frame for the automatic umbrella style canopy tent, and uses a separate locking device, so that the tent frame has an undesirably complex structure, and forces a user to repeatedly lock and unlock the tent using the locking device, thus being inconvenient to the user.